Pile fabric manufacture



.May 6, 1941- T. H. VETTERLEIN, JR 2,240,530

` PILE FABRIC MANUFACTURE Filed May 1s, 19739 FIG I.

INVENTOQ. THEODORE H VETTEIZLEWJR.

ATTQNEY.

Patented May 6, 1941 UNITED sTATEs 2,240,530 4PILE FABRIC MANUFACTURE Theodore H. Vetterlein, Jr., Bristol, R. I., assignor 19000 &

Aikman Corporation, Philadelphia,

Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application May 13, 1939, serial No. 273,466

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a method of Weaving pile fabrics comprising pile loops and cut pile tufts. and more specifically pile fabricshaving uncut loops and higherV cut tufts. The pile sists inweaving a warp pile'fabric as above de-y scribed on aloom equipped with a pattern mechanism such as a jacquard head, a.l single set of stationary longitudinal pile wires which pass warp-wise through the reed` dents and a single warp beam for the pile forming warp yarns.

It is known to employ a set of stationary pile gauges and a superposed set of sheddable gauges which determine the difference in height between the low uncuti pile loops and the higher uncut pile loops, and to insert two weft threads by simultaneously picked shuttles. When this known method is used the higher pile loops may be sheared to form cut tufts after the fabric has been removed from the loom. l

Certain'disadvantages arise from the use of two sets of gauges, particularly in the weaving of comparatively dense fabrics.. The constant movement of the gauges of the sheddable set of gauges within there'ed dent maycause an abrasive actionl which results in metallicstains,

for example iron stains,which. are noticeable and objectionable in the finished product. Furthermore, each additional set of wires complicate the shedding umts and the weaving operation.

Thepresent concept contemplates the simultaneous introduction of a pair of weft threads by two weft carriers, the elimination of creels for complicated patterns and the use of a. single setv of 4longitudinal n onsheddab1e, preferably flat, wires in the weaving of pile fabrics having pile of different heights.

.In accordance .with'my invention I provide a supply of backing which during weaving advance to the fell of the cloth in yconverging sheds to form with the wefts a true ground and a false ground. The two groun'ds are interconnected by pile forming yarns which are fed from a single pile beam or a plurality of pile beams .having the same.feed rate. I may use a-.- sand covered roll forwardly of thewarp beam or beams to deliver lthe warp to the shedding mechanism without putting an excessive strain on ythe heddles. Sand rolls are commonly used Y delivery for plain pile fabrics.

A definite ratio is maintained between the amount of yarn in the cut pile forming portions and the amount of yarn in the lower uncut loops. This ratio may be'expressed in multiples of one to the other or may, for example, be' of a ratio of 3 to2. If the ratio is 2 to 1, there may lbe one-half as many tufts as there are loops 10 in a given length of fabric.' Stated another Way, a length of yarn capable of forming twenty loops may form five double tufts and ten loops. .The term double tuftl is used merely to indifor` pile cate that the tufts comprise two legs or ends.`

'lhe single set of gauges ldetermine the height of the low loops, whereas the distance between y thetrue and false grounds is controlled by the tension of the interconnecting pile forming yarns and the rate of fe d of pile warps through the sand roll.

The backing warps of the false ground preferably Weave in flats or pairs above the wefts under which the .tuft-forming yarns are'loopeCL In this connection the false ground is considered the lower ground. This interlacing securely holds the yarn for cutting on the loom with the conventional reciprocating loom pile cutter.

An object of this invention is .to provide a method of weaving pile fabrics having different heights of pile by the tionary gauges.

Another object is to provide a method of weav ing high and low pile fabrics-by maintaining a ratio of iength between tutt forming' portions and loop forming portions.

Another object is to provide a method of weavinghigh and'low pile vfabrics with a single rate of feed forall of thevpile-forming yarns.-y

A further object is to provide a method Vof 40 weaving pile fabrics having pile loops secured by `a single weft `and pile tufts woven in'a fast or "'Wweave. v l l A further object is the elimination of the use of creeis in the weaving of complicated pile fabric patterns. f f Another object is to weave an interconnected true and falselground with 'a single vset of pile V"gauges which do not engage the! false ground during weaving. l These'and other objects of invention'will Abe manifest from a consideration of the' following.

- description and the attached drawing, in which, lFigure Iis an expanded view of a* portion Lof a true fabric showing =the warpyarnwhich passes through two reed dents.

Vuse of a' single set of sta.-l

Figure II is a View of the fabric shown in Figure I and illustrates the position of one of the gauges of the set in approximate relationship to its position in the fabric during weaving `and before cutting.

Figure III is an expanded view of a portion of a true fabric in which the tufts are interlaced with the backing in a fast or W weave.

Figure IV is a view of the fabric illustrated in Figure III and shows the converging sheds' and gauge wire in its position in the fabric during weaving and before the fabric is cut.

Referring tothe drawing, Figure I illustrates three repeats of a four-pick repeat weave woven in accordance with my improvements. A weft repeat may be dened as the ratio of the number of wefts in the true ground to the number of loops or tufts .which may be formed in a single pile yarn. In the illustrated embodiments, the weft weave repeat and the weft tuft pile repeat are both four. The weft loop pile repeat is two. The wefts I, 2, 3, 4, I', 2', 3', 4 and I", 2", 3", 4" interlace with tight backing warps 5, 6, 1 and 8, and the slack backing warps 9 and III. Low pile loops Il and tufts I2 are looped around a single weft. A single pile warp may form all loops, all tufts or both loops and tufts, it being understood that `an equal amount of each pile yarn is fed for each four-pick repeat. A pair of tight warps. a slack warp, a pile yarn and a pair of warps for the false ground pass through each reed dent during Weaving. The loose woven tufts mayj be secured in position in the backing `by an application to the back of the fabric of an adhesive such as latex properly compounded.

2,240,530 y joining dents are called to make staggered fast tufts, one of the yarns passes under two picks and then to the false ground, whereas the other yarn passes under one pick, over one pick and under two picks and thence to the false ground.

The wefts 24, 25, 2B, 21, 24', 25', 2B', 21 and 24", 25", 26, 21" interlace With th backing I warps 28, 29 and 30 and the pile yarn to form low loops 3| and fast tufts 32. The reeding is the same as in Figure I except that there are no slack warps. n

Figure IV illustrates the fabric of Figure III before cutting on the loom and bears the same relationship to Figure III as Figure II bears to ground interlace with warps 22' and 23'. The low It will be seen from Figure II that either a tuft forming' portion or two loops are made for each four wefts, and that an equal amount of each pile yarn P is delivered per repeat whether low loops or tuft forming portions are formed. The backing warps are arranged in sheds I3 and I4 to form a true ground I5 and a false ground I6. The shuttles S pass through the sheds in a known manner. The distance between the true and the false ground is determined by thetension of' the warps and the tension on interconnecting pile tuft forming portions I1.

In Figure II asin Figure I, the true ground consists of wefts I, 2, s, 4, l', 2', s', 4' and I", z", a",

4", the tight warps 5, 6, 1 and/8 and slack warps 9 and III.` The wefts I, 2, 3, 4, etc. secure thelow loops Il and tuft forming portions I'I to the true ground. ,The 'wefts I8. equal to one-half the number of wefts in the true ground, are positioned on the opposite side of the pile gauges I9 from the true ground I5. and support the low loops II during weaving and before cutting by conventional reciprocating loom pile cutter 20. Cutter 20 is aligned with that portion of the pile portion I1 which during weaving lies between the false ground I6 and the low loops. The warps 22 and 23 of the false ground Weave over and under wefts 2l in .pairs of flats opposite to the pile. One of the pair is on opposite sidesof the pile yarn. A weft is inserted under and over Ithe gauge simultaneously. A substantial difference of pile `height is thus eected. 1

Figure III differs from Figure I in that all the backing warps are tight ,warps and that the tufts are W tufts. A slight irregularity in the weave exists when a yarn changes from making loops to staggered tufts or from staggered tufts to loops. This is necessary to keep the pile in its relative position to the backing warps in the reloops II are supported by wefts I8 over pile gauges I9'. Reciprocating loom cutter 20' severs the tuft forming portions I1 on the loom. Wefts 34 are readily removable after the cutting of the pile formingv portions I1', as above set forth.

The spacing of the-two fabrics by the tension on the warps instead of by two sets of gauges lends flexibility to the process. Other conditions remaining .the same, if a fast or W weave tuft is woven with loops which are merely looped -around a single weft the fabrics will be slightly closer together than when pile V's are formed for the tufts. The process, moreover, is not restricted lto forming pile whose dierence in height is determined by round flexible shedded wires which must/be very small because they, pass through reed dents.

The invention as herein set forth is adapted to the weaving of a large Variety of pile fabric patterns consisting of high and low pile. By my improvements I effect complete control of pile height without undue or uneven tension of the pile warp and without robbing of parts of the pile Afoiming portions to complete the, pile height of other' portions.

If desired, the weftsintroduced in the false ground and supporting the low loops may be heavier than the wefts ofthe true ground. For example, ina 40 pick Weave the wefts thrown into thetrue ground may be 3/60s' cotton count and the wefts of the false ground may be 2/20's cotton count.

Having described my invention in preferred embodiments. I claim: i

1. In the manufactureof pile fabric having consist in providing a set of ground warps for a Y true fabric and a set of ground warps for a false fabric which is to be spaced from the pile gauges,

interweaving wefts with both sets of warps, moving equal lengths of pile forming yarns for different heights' of pile at substantially equal rates through the reed dents, interweaving all of the pile forming yarns with the wefts of the true ground, looping some pile forming vyarns about wefts which are separated from thetrue ground .only bythe set of pile gauges, interlacing others of the pile forming yarns with the wefts of the false ground and again interweaving all of the pile forming. yarns with the weft of the true ground fabric, the length of the said interlaced pile forming portions being a `multiple of Athe length of the yarn in the pile forming portions which are supported by the wefts which are separated from the true fabric by the gauges.

2. In the weaving of pile fabric comprising an all over design of di'erent heights of pile and a backing on a loom equipped with a reed and longitudinal pile gauges having free ends, the steps which consist 'in providing a set of ground warps for a true fabric and a set of ground warps for a false fabric which is to be spaced'from the pile gauges, interweaving wefts with both sets of warps, lmoving equal lengths of pile forming yarns for different heights of pile at substantially :equal rates through the reed dents, interweaving all of the pile forming yarns with wefts of the true ground. looping some pile forming yarns about wefts which are separated from the true ground by the set of pile gauges, interiaclng others of the pile forming yarns with the wefts of the false ground. thel length of yarn in the pile forming portions which are interlaced with the false ground being a multiple of the length of yarn in the pile forming portions ywhich are supported by the weftswhich are separated from the true fabric by the gaugesfinterweaving all of the pile forming yarns with the wefts of the true ground fabric and severing only those pile' forming yarns which interlace with the false ground at their portion which during weaving 'and before cutting. is between the low pile and the false ground.

3'. In a process as set forth in claim 2, further `characterized in that the pile yarns interlace with single wefts in the backing and that the length of yarn in the loops supported by the pile gauges yis substantially one-half the length of yarn of 

